Pak army ordered to hit back US forces

The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based US troops inside the country.

Army Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the orders in a brief interview with Geo News on late Thursday night.

The decision was made on the first day of the two-day meeting of Pakistan's top military commanders to discuss the US coalition's ground and air assault in Waziristan region which killed dozens of civilians.

Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired the meeting which began in Rawalpindi on Thursday at the Army General Headquarters.

The army decision followed bloody incursions by the US ground troops into tribal belt as well as a string of missile strikes by CIA-operated drone aircraft.

The reaction also comes after US President George W. Bush approved US military raids on militants inside Pakistan without Islamabad's agreement.

The development also brought into the open the increasing mistrust between the Americans and the Pakistanis over how to handle the Taliban and al-Qaeda linked militants in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Some political expert predict the break out of an all-out war between the United States troops and Pakistani army following the Bush administration's approval of ground and air assaults inside the country. Pak army ordered to hit back US forces

ISPR says orders to hit-back at US forces not a recent change in Paks defence policy

Islamabad , Sept 17 (ANI): The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the public relations wing of the Pakistan army, has said that giving orders to its troops to hit back at US drones was not a recent change in its policy of defending its territory against foreign incursions.

ISPR chief Maj Gen Athar Abbas said that to defend the country and its people against any foreign aggression was the stated policy of the Pakistan Army.

There has been no recent change in the armys policy after cross-border incursions by US-led forces. We reserve the right to defend our people in case of any offensive or cross-border incursion and we reserve the right to respond, the Daily Times quoted Abbas as saying.

Referring to his interview with a foreign agency in which he was quoted as saying that the army had given new instructions to its field commanders to deal with US troops trespassing into Pakistan, he said it was reported out of context, and that there had been no recent change in the policy.

In the interview Athar was quoted as saying that Pakistan s military, after the September 3 Angoor Ada ground assault by US troops, had ordered its troops to open fire if the US troops launched another raid inside Pakistan . At least 15 people were killed when the US troops launched the ground assault in the area.

Islamabad , Sept 17 (ANI): Taking a strong exception to the highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by US commandos near the Angoor Ada town, the Pakistan Army has reportedly ordered its forces to open fire at US troops if they launch another air or ground raid from across the Afghan border.

According to a Pakistan Army spokesman, the orders are certain to heighten tensions between Washington and Islamabad as far as the fight against terrorism is concerned. Although the ground attack was rare, there have been repeated reports of US drone aircraft striking militant targets, the latest being on Sept. 12.

However, the Pentagon hoped that Islamabad will correct the record of the volatile statement, even as its spokesman Bryan Whitman said that Pakistan was an ally in the global war on terror, and that the US enjoys good cooperation with Pakistan along the border.

According to CBSNews, Pakistani officials warn that stepped-up cross-border raids will accomplish little while fueling violent religious extremism in nuclear-armed Pakistan . Some complain that the country is a scapegoat for the failure to stabilize Afghanistan .

Pakistans civilian leaders who have taken a hard line against Islamic militants since forcing Pervez Musharraf to resign as president last month, have insisted that Pakistan must resolve the dispute with Washington through diplomatic channels.

However, army spokesman Athar Abbas said that after US helicopters ferried troops into a militant stronghold in the South Waziristan tribal region, the military told field commanders to prevent any similar raids. The orders are clear. In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire, Abbas said in an interview.

US military commanders accuse Islamabad of doing too little to prevent the Taliban and other militant groups from recruiting, training and resupplying in Pakistan ‘’s wild tribal belt.

Pakistan acknowledges the presence of al Qaeda fugitives and its difficulties in preventing militants from seeping through the mountainous border into Afghanistan . However, it insists it is doing what it can and paying a heavy price, pointing to its deployment of more than one lakh troops in its increasingly restive northwest and a wave of suicide bombings across the country. (ANI)

We all know the pak army along with the isi is mad yes but stupid ,i dont think so.
This is all a big game of propaganda for pak,they need to show their people who's in charge.All these drone's america are using in the afpak border may bolster security for afghanistan but it weaken's pak.

An important step for pak is to try and stop the US using its air space/territory as if its there right to launch air strikes on the people of pakistan.Dont get me wrong ,i care not one jot about them. But to allow a foreign power the right to conduct military strikes on your soil is wrong,it would be only natural for the people of pak to wonder why there armed forces aren't helping them against american aggression.

Without US aid how long would pak last. if the pak taliban dont destroy them,the US will.
For better or worse they chose america,so they better buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride. THE EXISTENCE OF PAKISTAN IS AT STAKE?

This is just mere rhetoric to pander to the domestic audience. They made similar statements about their capability to shoot the American drones while the drones were actually flying from the Pakistani air bases. These empty sound bytes are made to restore the non-existent honor and dignity of its people, lest they feel Pakistan is a puppet in US hands.

how come sovereignty is not violated if it is a drone attack while it is in case of a ground incursion? it is safe to assume they are mere sound bytes to cater to the locals and particularly to the media there which has shown courage in recent times. agree with DD.

These are all old articles. They are dated no later than September, 2008. The policy has changed. Bush has since rescinded his threat to send troops into Pakistan territory, and the situation has been diffused.